WV: Black Communities Become 'Sacrifice Zones' For Industrial Pollution, Ken Ward Jr., ProPublica

Last edited Thu Dec 23, 2021, 03:50 PM - Edit history (1)

- Pam Nixon stands outside her home in South Charleston, West Virginia. Nixon got sick after being exposed to a leak from the Institute plant in 1985, & that spurred her to become an activist. She spent 15 years working as the environmental advocate for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
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- Mountain State Spotlight, 'How Black Communities Become 'Sacrifice Zones' For Industrial Air Pollution,' by Ken Ward, Jr., Dec. 21, 2021. Produced with ProPublica- a lengthy article worth reading. - One of the most dangerous chemical plants in America sits in one of WVa.'s only majority-Black communities. For decades, residents of Institute have raised alarms about air pollution. They say concerns have “fallen on deaf ears.” - Excerpts, Ed:

-- Throughout West Virginia’s history, political power has been concentrated in heavy industries- coal, chemical manufacturing, natural gas, steel- in part because of the jobs that flow from them. Those sectors also are among the largest sources of campaign contributions for those running for political office. Elected officials and the regulatory agencies they control face pressures to not be too tough, or even appear to be too tough, and worker safety and environmental protection often suffer as a result. Chemical plants are simply part of the landscape. --

Every time Pam Nixon drives along Interstate 64, she sees the Union Carbide plant. Wedged between a green hillside and the Kanawha River, the sprawling facility has helped define West Virginia’s “Chemical Valley” for the better part of a century, its smokestacks belching gray plumes and fishy odors into the town of Institute, WVa., population 1,400. To many West Virginians, the plant is a source of pride- it was a key maker of synthetic rubber in World War II- and a source of hundreds of jobs. But to Nixon and others in Institute’s largely Black community, it has meant something else: pollution. The plant reminds Nixon of leaks, fires, explosions- dangers she’s dedicated most of her adult life to trying to stop. Now, on a warm Sept. evening, the 69-year-old retiree was at it again. Surrounded by files, documents and reports in her cluttered home office, she turned on her computer around 6 p.m. & logged on to Zoom. On the screen were U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials from Wash., D.C., & state regulators from the capital, Charleston. She had spent weeks calling & emailing residents to convince people to attend. Her goal: show officials that her community was watching them. “You have to be persistent,” she said.

Nixon watched approvingly as the audience grew to nearly 300. The threat this time: ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing chemical that facilities like the Union Carbide plant, now owned by Dow Chemical, make and that helps produce a huge variety of products, including antifreeze, pesticides and sterilizing agents for medical tools. The regulators, with Zoom background photos of pristine pine forests and green fields, shared a map of the area, a short drive west of Charleston. Blocks on the map were shaded green, yellow or red, from lowest to highest cancer risk. Much of Institute was bright red. The town of Institute, WVa. is representative of Black communities across the country that bear a disproportionate health burden from industrial pollution. - Institute, WVa., one of just 2 majority-Black communities in the state, is home to West Virginia State University, a historically Black college whose alumni include Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician made famous by the film “Hidden Figures,” and Earl Lloyd, the first Black player in the NBA.



- The Union Carbide plant in Institute, WV is adjacent to West Virginia State University, a historically Black college.

On average, the level of cancer risk from industrial air pollution in majority-Black census tracts is more than double that of majority-white tracts, according to an analysis by ProPublica, which examined 5 years of emissions data. That finding builds on decades of evidence demonstrating that pollution is segregated, with residents of so-called fence-line communities- neighborhoods that border industrial plants- breathing dirtier air than people in more affluent communities farther away from facilities. The disparity, experts say, stems from a variety of structural imbalances, including racist real estate practices like redlining and decades of land use & zoning decisions made by elected officials, government regulators and corporate executives living outside these communities. That means that these areas, many of which are low-income, also lack the access that wealthier areas have to critical resources, like health care & education, and face poorer economic prospects. Nixon and other advocates have been pressing Manchin to support the Biden administration’s Build Back Better legislation, which would help communities like Institute, providing money for air-monitoring & pollution-reduction programs. The bill would also fund research initiatives at historically Black colleges, as well as workforce training & affordable housing resources.

“We need these,” Nixon said at an October rally aimed at winning Manchin’s backing for the legislation. “These are not entitlements.”

But on Sunday, Manchin announced he would not support the bill, citing concerns about the national debt, rising inflation & spiking coronavirus cases.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capitol (R) & the state’s other senator, also opposes BBB legislation, & fellow GOP Rep. Alex Mooney, who represents Institute in Congress, voted against it in the House...

- Read More, https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2021/12/21/black-communities-industrial-air-pollution/

* Ken Ward Jr. is a co-founder of Mountain State Spotlight and a distinguished local reporting fellow with our partner, the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica. Ken spent nearly three decades reporting for The... More by Ken Ward Jr.






- Kathy Ferguson stands outside the Union Carbide plant in Institute. Ferguson grew up in the community surrounding the plant, & her father was a co-founder of a local activism group now called People Concerned About Chemical Safety. After leaving town for college & work, she came back in 2014, when her dad was diagnosed with what she says was a rare stomach cancer. She helped take care of him until he died.



- The West Virginia State University Yellow Jackets cheerleading team root from the sidelines at a football game on campus in Institute, West Virginia. The historically Black college is adjacent to a Union Carbide plant.